November Auction Report: Highlights from the Geneva sales

From the record-setting Patek Phillipe 2499 sold at Sotheby’s to a musical Girard-Perregaux and a colourful Rolex Daytona, we look at the key sales from November’s Geneva watch auctions

By Simon de Burton

As a journalist, there’s a sure-fire way to tell whether or not a high-end watch auction has gone well without actually being in the room – and that’s to sit in front of one’s computer and await a storm of hyperbolic press releases that crow about unprecedented prices, world records and vast totals. On a good day, these will arrive within minutes of the gavel falling on the last lot. Sometimes, the blizzard even begins while the sale is still in progress.

On not such good occasions, it isn’t unusual to wait several days before the ‘official’ results are quietly released allowing, in some cases, for numbers to be massaged and the picture to be enhanced with the inclusion of pieces sold in post-auction deals.

I’m writing this almost 24 hours after the last lot was hammered down at Christie’s, which was the last to stage its auction after Phillips, Antiquorum and Sotheby’s. The fact that Phillips has only just supplied its full post-sale release despite being first-up five days ago suggests that the house is not quite so pleased as usual with the outcome.

Sotheby’s, on the other hand, was almost instantaneous in announcing (incorrectly – see below) its sale of ‘the most expensive watch at auction in 2018’.

A Phillips total of CHF 21,359,750 from 224 lots offered is, however, nothing to be ashamed of and it set records for Rolex Sea Dweller and Jean-Claude Killy models – but the house and those who follow its watch auctions have come to expect such remarkable results that this event’s CHF 1m top lot – an un-storied Patek Philippe reference 3974P from 1994 – seems rather tame.

Despite not achieving its usual stellar performance, Phillips still eclipsed the sale totals of its three rivals, the nearest being Christie’s with CHF 13,310,688, followed by Sotheby’s at CHF 12,208,000 and Antiquorum at CHF 8,036,094.

That’s a grand total of more than CHF 54.9m in four days from an initial offering of 1,280 watches. So the market is not exactly showing sings of weakness – but certain ‘corrections’ may well be in the offing for 2019.

No serious horophile would deny that the watches of F.P. Journe have not only achieved ‘modern classic’ status, but that they are likely to emerge as rivals to the most collectable pieces from far more historic dial names. That theory was certainly borne out by the sale of this 20-year-old, platinum-cased tourbillon that was the ninth best performer at Phillips in terms of outright price but, more significantly, was the watch that exceeded expectations by the greatest multiple when it sold for 2.6 times its high estimate of CHF 180,000.

The fact that it attracted fierce competition was not surprising, since this was one of the first 20 of Journe’s watches to bear his name. The series was financed through the ‘subscription’ method famously used by Journe’s horological hero, Abraham-Louis Breguet, whereby the maker offered the watches to close friends and family in exchange for up-front payments.

This particular watch, therefore, really represents the start of a horological journey that has made Journe one of the most respected and admired of all independent watch makers – so it is already historically important. Add to that the fact that it was offered at Phillips in what was described as ‘almost brand new, unworn condition’ from the very friend of Journe’s who bought it new, and it quickly becomes apparent why the pre-sale estimate of CHF 120,000 – 180,000 was almost absurdly conservative – not least since the house sold another example in 2015 for CHF 269,000.

The buyer of that one is, no doubt, feeling deservedly pleased with his or her purchase.

Next to condition and originality, provenance is key when it comes to the worth of a vintage watch – so when a landmark model in great, unrestored condition is consigned for auction by a figure who is key to its existence, the price is always going to soar. Such was the case with this remarkable, early example of Audemars Piguet’s celebrated offshore chronograph that belonged to none other than Emmanuel Gueit – the very man who designed it.

It’s well known that Gerald Genta was the creator of the original Royal Oak that went on sale in 1972 as the world’s first, steel-cased ‘luxury’ sports watch. But it was Gueit who was given the unenviable task of taking the mighty Oak ‘to another level’ 20 years later having been employed by Audemars Piguet in 1989 after failing to complete both an apprenticeship and a course in Art Deco studies (you can read QP’s illustrated history of the Royal Oak Offshore here).

Legend has it that his inspiration for the new model came from the emerging trend for women to wear their boyfriend’s/husband’s watches – meaning men’s watches needed to get even bigger. So he expanded the case to a large-for-the era 42mm in diameter, added a chronograph function and placed a chunky gasket between the distinctive octagonal bezel and the main part of the case.

AP’s old guard were so cautious about Gueit’s creation that the name ‘Offshore’ was omitted from the backs of the first 100 examples, presumably in the hope that no one would notice something was a bit different (!). This Phillips watch was number 39 from that first batch and was, therefore, additionally covetable – but it was surely its superb provenance that helped it to race beyond its CHF 80,000 estimate.

Girard-PerregauxAntiquorum, Geneva, November 11Sold for: CHF 102,500

It’s decidedly rare to see a Girard-Perregaux wrist watch make it into the ‘top 10’ best sellers in an auction price list, so it was refreshing to see this platinum-cased Opera Three among the most expensive pieces at this Antiquorum sale .

What is interesting about the watch is that it is not a minute repeater but, simply, a ‘musical’ watch that was among one of the last ranges to be conceived in what many regard as the golden era of the modern Girard-Perregaux when it was under the control of the late Luigi Macaluso, who died in 2010. Measuring 43mm in diameter and unashamedly hefty thanks to all that platinum, it featured the usual hours, minutes and seconds indications on the dial, together with a power reserve display at the one o’clock position – and a unique counterpart at 11 o’clock, marked with the letters ‘MZT’ and ‘TKY’.

Classical music lovers will soon work out that these stand for ‘Mozart’ and ‘Tchaikovsky’, alluding to the fact that the Opera Three is both watch and miniature musical box, since it contains a carillon with a 20-blade keyboard and a drum set with 150 minuscule pins.

A small lever on the side of the case enables the user to chose between Mozart’s ‘a Little Night Music’ or Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake’. Or, if simply the gentle tick of the hand-wound movement is all anyone wants to hear, a second lever disconnects the mechanism entirely.

Those who followed the progress of Jaeger-LeCoultre during the first decade of the 21st century – when, under the management of Jerome Lambert, it was a veritable powerhouse of avant garde horological thinking and ingenous design – will recall the barrage of remarkable ‘complicated’ watches that emerged from the Le Sentier manufacture. Among them were the three-dialled Reverso Grande Complication a Triptyque, the Duometre Spherotourbillon and the Hybris Mechanica a Grande Sonnerie.

But perhaps the most memorable was the Gyrotourbillon created by genius movement maker Eric Coudray and the young Magali Metrailler, then a budding young designer with Jaeger-LeCoultre. The watch was almost worth owning simply to be able to look at the micro-mechanical tapestry created by the 600 individual, beautifully arranged components that made-up the movement.

But it is the way that movement worked that attracted most collectors because its twin, sapphire crystal-capped winding barrels transmitted their power via a linear wheel arrangement to ensure a smoother, more regular delivery. The mechanism also featured true equation of time, a perpetual calendar, double retrograde date and, of course, the dual-axis spherical tourbillon from which the watch got its name.

This particular example of the Gyrotourbillon was the second of just five produced with ‘stealthy’ platinum cases blackened with a PVD treatment and, while the watch had clearly been worn and enjoyed, it remained in excellent condition and was thoroughly deserving of its near CHF 200,000 final price.

There are few instances where art and horology combine quite so impressively as in the enamelled pocket watches decorated for Patek Philippe by the enigmatic G. Menni who, along with Suzanne Rohr, is one of the most admired craftspeople in the field. This particular example, however, was more desirable than many for a variety of reasons, one of which being that it originally belonged to the late Claude Nobs, the celebrated founder of the Montreux Jazz festival who died in 2013 aged 76 following a skiing accident.

The success of the festival he established in 1967 brought him personal fame, friendships with many of the world’s leading musicians and, of course, a level of wealth that enabled him to acquire this open face Patek Philippe pocket watch enamelled with a scene entitled ‘Apollon et Isse’ some time during the late 1990s. Dangling from a specially made ‘lion’ stand, the watch was for years displayed in Nobs’s ‘maximalistically’ decorated Swiss chalet high above Montreux where he regularly entertained the great and the good of the music world.

Interestingly, however, it was recently discovered that the stand originally belonged to a different enamelled Patek decorated with a painting based on Veronese’s ‘Pastoral Scene of Patrician Life’. It transpired that the two watches once belonged to the same person who offered one to his son as a gift. The son chose the Veronese watch, but asked for the stand that originally belonged to the Nobs watch. The ‘swap’ was only discovered when the ‘other’ watch was, coincidentally, consigned for Christie’s May sale in Hong Kong.

Were Patek Philippe to produce this wrist watch today, it’s a fair bet that it would cause quite a stir when unveiled at the Baselworld show. But, apart from its quintessential art deco style, gorgeous, curved case and the sheer practicality of its highly legible dial, what makes it truly remarkable is that it is one year off being 110 years old.

Made in 1909 and first sold, serendipitously, exactly a century ago, it was among the first Patek Philippe watches to be attributed a reference number having started life as the ‘Model 10’.

It first appeared at auction a decade ago and has remained with the buyer ever since. Like the original owner, he or she clearly wore it rarely since it remains in remarkably good, original condition, the curved back of the imposing, 50mm case still bearing its Patek Philippe signature and gold assay-mark, while the luminous infil to the hands and so-called ‘explosion’ numerals has faded to a uniform creamy-beige.

Few examples of the model were made and fewer, inevitably, survive – which makes this not only a great looking, thoroughly wearable watch, but a decidedly rare one that, dare we say it, is as quietly interesting in its own way as any ‘complication’.

Patek Philippe’s Reference 2499 perpetual calendar chronograph is celebrated for being one of the most collectable of all vintage watches – and if you wanted one, this month’s Geneva sales were a good place to look, since there were no fewer than three on offer between Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

The star offering at Christie’s was a first series model that is the only known example to feature a dial signed by Venezuelan retailer Serpico y Laino, and it fetched an impressive CHF 3,252,500 – but even that wasn’t enough to make it the top seller of the Geneva sales, an honour that went to the even more sought-after Sotheby’s offering dubbed the ‘Asprey’ due to the additional signature on its dial.

Also believed unique, the watch was made in 1952 and sold by Asprey of London four years later, a fact confirmed both by the Patek archive and the initials ‘RC’ that are beautifully engraved on the case back above the date 25 May, 1956.

According to Sotheby’s catalogue, the watch was presented to ‘RC’ as a 21st birthday gift which he kept for around 40 years before selling it to the highly respected pre-owned Patek dealer David Duggan. It subsequently turned-up at a Sotheby’s sale 12 years ago, where it fetched a then record-breaking CHF 2.2m

As investments go, it certainly proved a good one – as demonstrated by the CHF 3.9m it made this time around. Still in the same, superb condition it was in when the original owner sold it to Duggan, it really was a quintessential example of Patek Philippe that no serious collector would wish to be without. It will, no doubt, appear at auction again in a few years time and sell for even more. Making it a far better proposition than having money in the bank. Sotheby’s incidentally, claimed this to have been the most expensive watch sold at auction in 2018. Phillips might beg to differ, however, having sold its ‘Unicorn’ Rolex in May for CHF 5.9m.

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in all its forms – even those ‘very rare’ Paul Newman dial versions – has become so ubiquitous at auction that the sale of (another) one almost fails to merit mention. This particular example does, however, not least because of its unusual dial colour. The ‘salmon’ finish was made available during the late 1990s on the white gold Reference 16519 alongside the more commonly seen mother-of-pearl dial. While the latter may well be ‘a bit too much’ for many, the salmon option (apologies if that sounds like a menu choice) was both understated, different and entirely appropriate to the tool watch style.

The non-original strap on this example set it off beautifully, making the watch desirable on looks and condition alone. But also likely to have helped it to a selling price well above its high estimate is the fact that it contained the famed Zenith El Primero movement that first appeared in the Cosmograph – modified by Rolex to become the Calibre 4030 – in 1988. A sub-group among Cosmograph collectors is already well established for these models, but many believe prices still have a long way to go – and the really sought-after models will, inevitably, be those with interesting nuances. Such as salmon dials.